(gentle music) – [Woman] Wing on Wo itself being here, throughout five generations
is a radical act. And the fact that we’re
opening our doors to engage with our community in another way, takes that to the next level. – To bend the word threat. (clapping) – [Mei Lum ] Trying to
integrate a social mission into the work that we do here; for me it’s also cultivating my own relationship with Chinatown as it changes. – [Narrator] This Great Big Story is brought to you by Delta. When we venture out into the world, we see all that we share. – My name is Mei Lum. I’m the fifth generation
owner of Wing on Wo and also the founder and
director of the Wow Project. Wing and Wo is the oldest continually run store in Chinatown. It was started by my
great-great-grandfather in 1890. Today Wing on Wo, sells a
collection of porcelain. Wing on Wo is completely family run. The store has been throughout the years, like our family living room. It’s where we meet up, where we hang out. There’s a kitchen in the back. We’re not only selling porcelain pieces, but we’re also supporting the community through the work that we
do with the Wow project. And we’re doing that
through arts and activism. At the time when Chinatown was forming, we had no other place to go. We were being pushed out and marginalized, so we had to in order to
survive, create these Chinatowns, to pass a safe space. There’s still recent immigrants that are coming to America
and needing a space to land. But Chinatown’s around the country are at a very pivotal
moment with their longevity and reassessing their purpose in serving these immigrant communities. A lot of different Asian Americans who aren’t even Chinese, come
to Chinatown to grocery shop to learn about their
culture and their identity. For me, the store itself
has been a landing and launching pad in my life to understand my Asian-American identity; to understand Chinese culture and history as well as my sense of
self and sense of grounding in this community. After I graduated college I
decided to live and work abroad for eight years. I came back hoping to
apply to grad school, but right before I
hopped on the plane back, my dad had called me and told me, we are thinking about selling
the business and the building. I always had relied on having
this space as a constant. So when I realized that
this was not going to be here anymore that’s when
you start thinking about, how can I continue this legacy? (melancholic music) I never ever thought that I
would be taking over the store, but I started learning
about gentrification and displacement. And that really opened my
eyes to the larger context that my family situation was existing in. I had to make that decision, if I was going to do something about it. When I took over I had
a lot of interactions with all these people
in my community about what they care about, and I was in a position to do something. So we started a community initiative out of the store front
called the Wow Project. We do host different public programs in the storefront space, like
screenings, talks, readings. – It seemed as if there
were serpents and ocean. I fought to be with my son. (clapping) – [Mei Lum] We have a
storefront residency program that we offer up to an
emerging Asian American artist. We also have the youth internship program. It really runs the gamut. The largest event that we hold is our anniversary fundraiser. And we’ve outgrown the
store, so just to see how many people came out,
it was really incredible. Chinatown has been such
a safe haven for me, and I’m happy that I was
able to grow up in this space because it’s grounding me. So for me it’s amazing to hear
that, that’s the same thing for other folks. That’s the dream right? – So much of this year has been about strengthening our community. So to the Wow team, thank you for your heart soul
creativity and imagination. – We want people to be able
to cultivate themselves, nurture themselves here
and be able to like do even bigger and better things beyond this. (gentle music)

CHIGGS 58THPost author

Super JacksonPost author

OMG, I was just at this store and I got a tea set from it with some other stuff, and while I was there the father made a comment like " my daughter is taking me into the next generation as my boss" it makes me so happy to see that my favorite YouTube channel did a video on this😃😃😃

PringlesTheGoosePost author

Ani ChenPost author

Went passed it so many times. That part of Chinatown has inevitable part of my life and childhood. I only went there once but I didn't know they have such beautiful porcelains. I will be recommending this store to everyone I know.

Edit: I talked to friends about the store. They said that the store wasn't like how it was now back few years ago.

TrololololPost author

Wait are those people of all ethnicity coming together and buying items to support the store! How dare the racist! I was told by liberals and shameful anti-Americans living there it’s a racist country?

Ursa MinorPost author

First name Last namePost author

Jonathan FPost author

This video is sweet. I hope they preserve their Chinatown and their cause grows.The local Chinatown where I live is quickly being encroached by luxury apartment complexes. Literally, buildings where low-income people scraped by, saved and built themselves up are being torn down in favor of creating huge multi-billion dollar high-rises. I actually had many friends (including those that lived and had their businesses in/near Chinatown) leave because it was getting too expensive just to survive.

GreenM&M_11Post author

GrantPost author

ah…so she realized she can't piggy back off of her parents' store because they didn't know how to keep it running and she didn't want to lose some insane prime real estate in downtown Manhattan which could potentially make a lot of money, and here we are with this promotion video.

The Mellow LyfePost author

Micheal LPost author

Lydia CasteelPost author

I got to visit this beautiful store when I stayed for a week. They have such beautiful porcelain and art pieces, and they even told me about the project! I’m so glad they finally did a story on this incredible store.

Christine ClarkePost author

I live in Manchester and we've always had a thriving Chinatown. I went to Liverpool a few weeks ago with a friend, expecting to see their famous Chinatown. We were very sad to see that there was almost nothing there, except a lot of new hipster coffee bars. I hope Manchester's Chinatown adapts and grows. Manchester wouldn't be Manchester without Chinatown.

Quan NguyenPost author

Erik BakkerPost author

I'm not so impressed by the age; most buildings in my city are a lot older than that. Although 1890 is ancient for US standards. But the fact that it's been a family business for 130 years is just amazing! That's the actual impressive part.

The W.O.W ProjectPost author

If you are moved by our work and are compelled to support us in further building the W.O.W. Project, please donate to our annual fundraising campaign by following the link in our about page on our channel!

Dadson worldwidePost author

Its great to be this way about your race and culture .I think all should ,i just wished that white people could celebrate our ancestrys without the hate groups or activism labeling stigmas like white supremacy .Or without NAACP legally attacking any group of whites who orginize more than a dozen whites at once.

Fourleafclover kingdragonkillrPost author

Elaine GinPost author

Victor SotomayerPost author

Sadly alot of culture in general is disappearing around the city. Thanks for the people that are constantly moving into nyc who dont give a crap about culture or traditional and Just want their starbucks coffee every morning. Stores like these are gem to find in nyc. Unlike when i was a little boy you could find placed like these all over Chinatown. Its sad we have no more culture. America is dead.

Death watchPost author

Katana SpicePost author

hobbes2000Post author

Glad this story was made. As a first-gen Asian American, it's heart warming to hear and see stories like this because it preserves the cultural identity and experience of immigrants. Hope the store continues to operate for many, many more generations! Also what Mei Lum is doing with the WOW project is inspiring and great for the community!

Elena KawaiiPost author

They really just need the place clean and organized. So they can be proud how it looks. Some owners at local places by me get use to their place by coming in everyday or ever so often and don’t notice things . For example dust. The tags of items . What kind of displays they used. Is the store presentable are the people presentable. How do the owners or employees treat you is a huge reflection of who they are. Having the one year event is great .

King’Kong' QuishaPost author

Babs DeMarcoPost author

I've visited this store countless times. As someone who's very out of touch with their Chinese roots, it's very inspiring and eye-opening to see how important Wing On Wo is to the Chinatown community. I don't know if I'll be broke or not the next time I'll go, but I'll definitely be more appreciative when I stop by :)))

Dean CartwrightPost author

Michael LangleyPost author

I am glad to see asians like her not abandoning their roots and becoming white-washed. Shes a role model for future asian-americans because she continues her family legacy and even expands upon it. GJ!

ShinobiPost author

Slowlikehoney TooPost author

I am not Asian yet a native New Yorker and over the years Chinatown has been dwindling unfortunately, as a kid I remember my family going to Chinatown and how incredibly rich the community was in a sense of family.To pass down from generation to generation is wonderful and I wish my community was as inspiring.Great story as always, ty🙏🏻